Machinery fob combing wool



' e NumTnn sTaTns rATnnT ein CHARLESG. SARGENT, OF LOVELL, MASSACHSETTS.

MACHINERY FOR COMBING WOOL.

Specification ofl Letters Patent No. 10,913, dated May 16, 1854.

T0 all whom, t may concern Be it known that LCHARLES G. SARGENT, of Lowell, Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Machines for Combing Wool and otherFibrous Substances, of

i which the following is a full, clear, and

exact description, reference being had to the accompianying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- `Figure 1, isa front elevation;` Fig. 2, an elevation of the feeding end; Fig. 3, an elevation of the opposite end; Fig. 4L, a section taken at the line A, a of Fig. l; Fig. 5 an elevation of the inside of the frame carrying the feed rollers. y l

l The same letters indicate like parts in all the gures. p

In my improved machine there is one or two rows of teeth on `which the woolto` be combed is lapped, and these teeth are attached by sectional bars to the links. of an endless chain passing over rollers or wheels, and in the upper part of their course guided so as to move slowly in a straight line to receive the fibers of wool from a` feeding apparatus, thence carry it along in front of a combing apparatus and then to a pair of rollers which draw off the combed fibers to form a sliver. y

My invention consists in lapping the wool as itis fed forward through feed rollers, by giving to the frame which carries the feeding apparatus, a` motion `derived from a crank at or near oneend orthe equivalent thereof and `having the frame jointed to vibrating rods or rockers, so that the feeding apparatus shall gradually move toward the range of comb teeth, and then gradually descend to lap the fibers onto the teeth of the main comb, and then recede therefrom, and

` again rise preparatory to a repetition of the operation. n

. `My invention also consists in combining with the lapping feed rollers, a rod placed in front of and parallel therewith, which rod is connected with the'feeding apparatus ing with the lapping feed rollers and comb,

or either of them, and with the teeth of the main comb, a brush or brushes to hold `the ,fibers of wood on the main comb teeth during the lapping and combing operation, or

either, to prevent theiibers of wool fro-m being drawn out of the main comb teeth, for if they be not so held by the brush the fibers which are not hung on the main `comb teeth by the middle of their length will be drawn out the moment one end is liberted by the lapping rollers or working comb.

My invention also consists in giving an intermittent motion to the feed rollers, that they may feed forward the required quantity of wool before each lapping motion `and remain at restl during the lapping and drawing action. n

My invention also consists in combining with the main comb and condensing` apparatus, the employment of a vibrating finger, having a motion such asV would be given by having one end of the wire constituting such finger jointed to the edge of an endless belt passing around two rollers for the purpose of carryingwthe fibers of wool that have been combed toward the rollers of the condensing apparatus and presenting them properly to the bite of such rollers, to insure the catching of the longest fibers first.

In the accompanying `drawings at, repre; sents a frame adapted to the purpose, and a sliver or `bat of carded wool as it comes from the cards. This sliver or bat is presented to the bite of a pair of feed rollers the connecting rod takes hold of a crank i on a shaft y' which receives motion from the `driving shaft 7c, by a beltZ.

The rotation of the crank imparts to the end of the frame carrying the feed rollers, by virtue of the rockers e, e, a motion represented by the dotted line, so that the rollers shall move toward the main comb teeth, then downward to lap the wool onto the said teeth, and then back nearly in a straight line to separate the fibers held in the bite of the rollers from those lapped onto the teeth of the main comb.

The feed rollers are geared together vat one end by cog'wheels m m in the usual manner, and the lower roller at the other end carries a cog wheel n, F ig. 5, which engages a wheel 0, of the same size on an arbor p, mounted in a frame back of, and parallel with the feed rollers. At the opposite end this arbor carries a ratchet wheel g, the teeth of which are engaged by a spring ratchet hand r, on an arm s, which vibrates on the arbor, the upper end of the said arm being connected by a connecting rod t with the wrist of a small crank u, on the wrist pin fu, of the crank t' which imparts motion to the frame of the feed rollers. By means of the connections just above described an intermittent rotary motion is given to the feed rollers to give out the wool as the frame and rollers are receding from the teeth of the main comb, and to suspend the delivery or feed motion during the remaining part of the motion of the frame.

The arm s, that carries the ratchet hand is provided with a sector rack w, the cogs of which engage a cog wheel on an arbor y provided with an arm e, which carries on its outer end a rod a', in front of, and parallel with the feed rollers, so that as the feeding apparatus is carried toward the main comb teeth, the rod shall be carried up to lift the libers'held by the rollers preparatory to the lapping action, and after the fibers have been lapped on the comb teeth then descend to separate the fibers on the comb teeth from those held in the bite of the feed rollers.

yThe main comb f is composed of two rows of parallel teeth (more or less) secured to a series of bars 0, which are jointed about the middle of their length to the links of' a chain d, which passes around two wheels e', e', provided with side flanches which embrace the chain. One of the wheels e turns freely and the other is on a shaft f which carries a bevel cog wheel g that receives motion from a pinion L, on a shaft i', that in turn receives motion by a cog wheel j, pinion c, and band wheel Z, from the main driving shaft 7c.

The bars c', that carry the comb teeth are maintained in a straight line along the upper part of their course by sliding on and against a bar a, of the frame which is rabbeted for that purpose and which extend from one of the wheels e, to the other. The inner face 'of this bar as also the face of the bars 0, are properly beveled or chamfered to leave a smooth surface. The bar n', is also grooved to receive and guide the chain which carries the bars 0', of the comb. The chain of combs below is guided by a wheel o', the shaft of which is mounted in hangers p, that are adjustable for the purpose of keeping the chain properly distended.

The wool, which is lapped by the feed rollers onto the teeth of the main comb, is gradually carried by the motion of the chain to, and in front of'a working comb Q, by which the wool is properly combed.

The comb teeth project from a bar r, attached to a frame jointed to the upper end of two rockers s, s, and from the rear partk of this frame a rod t', extends to a crank u', on a crank shaft o, as in the feeding apparatus and to give the comb a like motion. The crank shaft o, receives motion from the main driving shaft by a belt w.

The motion imparted to the comb resembles very much the motion given by hand to the comb inthe operation of combing wool as represented by the dotted line in connection with the feeding apparatus.

In front of the chain of comb teeth there are two brushes a2, b2, one opposite the feeding lap rollers and the other opposite the working comb. As the motions of these two brushes and their purpose are alike the description of one will suffice-the same letters being applied to corresponding parts on the two. The bristles project from a bar or block attached by adjustable arms c2, with a rock shaft cl2, and one end of the rock shaft has an arm e2, to which is jointed one end of a rod f2, the other end of the said rodl being acted upon vby a cam groove g2, on acam wheel h2, on the end of the crank shaft. The form of the cam groove and its position relatively tothe crank, are such that the brush in front of the feed rollers is brought down so that its bristles enter the teeth of the main comb to bear on the fibers of wool directly after they are lapped on by the feed rollers to hold them on the teeth as the feed rollers move back, and the brush in front of the fibers where they are lapped around the -i main comb teeth to prevent the pull of the working comb from drawing the fibers out of the main comb. In this way it will be seen that if the end only of a fiber islapped around the teeth of the main combit will be held there until combed; but without the holding brush the fibers of wool would be often drawn out and wasted and none would remain to be thoroughly combed eXceptsuch as chanced to be lapped and held in the vertical fiuted rollers 2,"i2, which are placed near to the main comb. The shaft of one of these rollers, runs in fixed boxes and carries a pulley y, which receives motion from a band 7a2, froma pulley on the main driving shaft. And the shaft of the other roller runs in movable boxes provided with helical springs j2, y'2, the tensionof which keep the two rollers properly contact to bite the fibers of wool. The hanging fibers of wool, as the chain of combsmoves along, are caught by these rollers and are stripped off from the comb teeth, but it is important to the proper operation of this part of the machine, that the rollers should catchthe mostprojecting ends `of the fibers first ,-and for this purpose there is a wire finger m2, jointednear j its lower end to an endless strap or chain n2, that passes around two rollers 02, o2, one of `forward toward the bite of the rollers, that the longest ends may befirst caughtby the rollers and drawn from the comb teeth, and so in successio-n all the fibers of sufficient length are drawn off and formed into a sliver, and delivered by the rollers to a condensing tube t2 which receives motion by a band u2, from apulley on the shaft p2 of N the roller which carries the band for operating the wire nger.`

The condensing tube delivers the sliver to a pair of fluted rollers o2, o2, which remotion to the` chain of combs.

ceive mot-ion `from the main driving shaft by a strap cu2.

The boxes of the'rollers i2, 2, are attached to a frame or plate m2, which slides vertically in ways y2, so that the frame and its rollersare free to moveup and down, and this frame or plate is provided with an arm z2, the endof which rests on the periphery `of a cam a3, attached to a cog wheel b3, which receives motion from a worm `c3 on the shaft which communicates The form of this cam is represented by dotted lines in Fig. 1-and the object is to give a slow up-and-down motion to the rollers as they draw the fibers from the teeth of the main comb to insure thecatching of all the fibers which are of sufficient length.` Instead ofthe above arrangement of the workingcomb I contemplate attaching the comb to the side of the vibrating frame of the feeding apparatus where it `will receive a like motion but I prefer` the mode rst described. And I wish it also to be understood thatthe required heat can be applied to this machine, if desired, in any appro- `priate manner by means of steam pipes, or

by making some parts of the machine hollow for this purpose.

rHaving thus described my invention and the mode of construction which I have tried with success, what I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. Giving to the feeding apparatus the lapping` motion, substantially as specified by thecrank and rockers 0r their equivalents for llapping the fibers of wool onto the teeth of the main comb, as specied.`

2. I also claim in combination with the feed rollers operated substantially as specified, the employment of the lifting rod for lifting the fibers preparatory to lapping them onto the teeth of the main comb, and

then separating them substantially as` specified.

3. I also claim in combination with the continuous chain of j main comb teeth on which the fibers of wool are lapped, a working comb which is operated by a peculiar motion like that given to the lapping rollers by having the said working comb .attached to, and carried by, a frame operated at one end by a crank, or the equivalent thereof, and jointed to vibrating rods or rockers, substantially as specified.

4.. I also claim in `combination with the main comb teeth and with the lapping feed y rollers and the working" comb substantially as specified the employment of a brush or brushes substantially as described for holding the fibers of wool after they `have been lapped onto the main comb teeth to prevent them from being drawn out before they are combed as described.

5. I also claim in combination with the endless chain of comb-teeth constituting the main comb, the vibrating finger operated substantially as described to direct the fibers of wool after they have been combed to the rollers which draw them off and deliver them to the condensing apparatus as de scribed.

G. I also claim giving t-o the feed rollers an intermittent rotary motion substantially motion and then stop during the pulling or separating as specified.

7. And finally I claim, giving to the rollers of the condensing apparatus, lwhich strip the fibers` of wool from the teeth of the main comb, a slow Vibrating motion in thedirec- `tionof their-axes, as specified.

CHAS. G. SARGENT. Witnesses:

ITHAMAR IV. BEARD, DANIEL Ill/IURPHY, DAVID I). BARs'row. 

